Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2024 to Question 6378 on Multiple Occupation, whether her Department has received recent representations from local authorities on the permitted development rights for home owners seeking to covert their properties from C3 to C4 usage.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
National permitted development rights allow a C3 dwellinghouse to change use to a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) with up to 6 occupants (C4) without the need for a planning application.
Local authorities have planning powers to limit any proliferation of HMOs by introducing an ‘Article 4’ direction. There is no need for a local authority to seek permission from the Secretary of State before doing so.
As set out in the response to Question 6378 on 14 October, we will keep permitted development rights under review.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2024 to Question 6378 on Multiple Occupation, what steps her Department is taking to review those rights.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
National permitted development rights allow a C3 dwellinghouse to change use to a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) with up to 6 occupants (C4) without the need for a planning application.
Local authorities have planning powers to limit any proliferation of HMOs by introducing an ‘Article 4’ direction. There is no need for a local authority to seek permission from the Secretary of State before doing so.
As set out in the response to Question 6378 on 14 October, we will keep permitted development rights under review.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2024 to Question 6378 on Multiple Occupation, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effectiveness of Article 4 directions for the purposes of regulating C3 to C4 conversions.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
National permitted development rights allow a C3 dwellinghouse to change use to a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) with up to 6 occupants (C4) without the need for a planning application.
Local authorities have planning powers to limit any proliferation of HMOs by introducing an ‘Article 4’ direction. There is no need for a local authority to seek permission from the Secretary of State before doing so.
As set out in the response to Question 6378 on 14 October, we will keep permitted development rights under review.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2024 to Question 6378 on Multiple Occupation, what plans her Department has for the future regulation of housing in multiple occupation.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local authorities have robust powers to ensure landlords of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) comply with all relevant regulations. This includes powers to issue civil penalties, prosecute landlords and obtain banning orders.
The Renters’ Rights Bill introduces reforms to improve the regulation of private rented sector properties, including HMOs, and drive-up standards within the sector. This includes a Decent Homes Standard and new enforcement powers for local authorities.
We will keep the regulation of HMOs under review.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to ensure that landlords of houses in multiple occupancy comply with all relevant regulations.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local authorities have robust powers to ensure landlords of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) comply with all relevant regulations. This includes powers to issue civil penalties, prosecute landlords and obtain banning orders.
The Renters’ Rights Bill introduces reforms to improve the regulation of private rented sector properties, including HMOs, and drive-up standards within the sector. This includes a Decent Homes Standard and new enforcement powers for local authorities.
We will keep the regulation of HMOs under review.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department plans to remove permitted development rights for property owners seeking to convert properties from use class c3 to c4.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government will keep changes to permitted development rights under review.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the terms of the financial support package given by her Department to Stoke-on-Trent City Council in February 2024 on the Council's future financial stability.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This Government is under no illusions about the scale of the pressures that councils are facing, and is committed to providing councils with greater certainty and stability. In February 2024, Stoke-on-Trent City Council received in-principle capitalisation support of £21.7 million and £20.5 million, for financial years 2023/24 and 2024/25, under the previous Government's Exceptional Financial Support framework. Details of this support were published on gov.uk.
Under the previous Government's framework, financial support was agreed in-principle, with formal support and any associated conditions to be confirmed at a later date, subject to the outcome of an external assurance review of the council. The Government will consider the overall impact of any support provided when final decisions are taken.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will publish the terms of the financial support package given by her Department to Stoke-on-Trent City Council in February 2024.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This Government is under no illusions about the scale of the pressures that councils are facing, and is committed to providing councils with greater certainty and stability. In February 2024, Stoke-on-Trent City Council received in-principle capitalisation support of £21.7 million and £20.5 million, for financial years 2023/24 and 2024/25, under the previous Government's Exceptional Financial Support framework. Details of this support were published on gov.uk.
Under the previous Government's framework, financial support was agreed in-principle, with formal support and any associated conditions to be confirmed at a later date, subject to the outcome of an external assurance review of the council. The Government will consider the overall impact of any support provided when final decisions are taken.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on the rate of remuneration for (a) cleaners, (b) security guards and (c) catering staff in his Department in (i) Greater London and (ii) outside Greater London.
Answered by Jake Berry
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government does not directly employ (a) cleaners (b) security guards and (c) catering staff.
Cleaning, security guarding and catering services in buildings managed by the Department are outsourced under facilities management contracts. Suppliers are responsible for setting rates of pay for their staff and rates vary dependent on their age, location and market rates. All suppliers are required to pay, as a minimum, either the National Minimum Wage or the National Living Wage. The rates set by government for the National Minimum Wage and the National Living Wage are to rise in April 2019.
Cleaning, security guarding and catering services to the Department’s headquarters based in 2 Marsham Street are provided under a contract managed by the Home Office.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions (a) he and (b) officials of his Department have had with (i) Stoke-on-Trent City Council, (ii) Staffordshire County Council, (iii) Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, (iv) Staffordshire Moorlands District Council and (v) Stafford Borough Council on local government reorganisation in Staffordshire.
Answered by Rishi Sunak
Ministers and officials from my Department have regular discussions with local authorities covering a wide range of subjects, which can include local government reorganisation, but we have had no specific discussions with these councils about local government reorganisation in Staffordshire.